Blower fan



July 23, 1940. J. l. BOWERS 2,208,890

BLOWER FAN Filed Feb. 13, 1939 James]. Baa/ems INVENTOR ATTORNEYSPatented July 23, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,208,890 I BLOWER.FAN

James I. Bowers, Burns, Oreg. Application February 13, 1939, Serial No.256,219

1 Claim.

"The present invention relates to new and improved blower fans and moreparticularlyto fans of the reversible type.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a blower fanso designed that it will rotate in either a clockwise orcounter-clockwise direction and deliver the same amount of air perminute in either direction with no loss of efficiency.

.10 In the discharge of air from a fan of the blower or pressure type,the factor of power is important inthe production of any given amount ofair, and where static pressures, frictions and eddies are setup byforcing the air through the fan itself,

15 the power used and the size of the fan are accordingly raised. Wherelarge volumes of air are required these factors are of importance andover a period of time the cost per cubic foot of air dischargedincreases considerably. Further, where 20 an increase in the volume ofair to be produced is desired, it becomes necessary to increase thediameter of the blades of the fans now in use, and where these fans areof a permanent nature, it requires considerable expense to allow for anincrease in diameter and in some instances, is practically impossible.

Another object of the invention is, therefore, to construct a blower fanwhereby all currents and eddies of air are eliminated.

so According to the present invention there is provided a fan enclosedin a suitable housing and so designed as to allow the air to be set inmotion by blades or vanes which will produce any given amount of air incubic feet per minute for 3:. any work to be done. This fan is soconstructed that a very low power factor is used to obtain large volumesof air at low pressure and low velocity, and an equally low power factorin proportion for high velocity and high pressure. As

4o is to be understood, for low velocity and low pressures, the power isgreatly reduced due to the vane or blade type fan area and therelatively large conduits for discharge. The herein described fan willoperate under both low and high pressure and due to its construction iscapable of being operated in either direction with the same factor ofefiiciency.

The invention will be fully and comprehensively understood from aconsideration of the following detailed description when read inconnection with the accompanying drawing which forms a part of theapplication.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view with parts thereof shown in sectionof the new and improved blower fan;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on line 2-2 ofFigure 1;

Figure 3 is an elevational view of the hub :6 structure employed forassociating the blades of the fan with the drive shaft; and

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view through the hub illustrated inFigure .3.

Referring to the drawing for a more detailed description thereof, thefan indicated generally by the reference numeral 5 is rotatablysupported on a shaft 6 extending through the housing 7. It will be notedthat the housing 1 projects beyond the frame 8 which frame forms aconduit to provide an inlet and outlet for air discharged by the fan.The shaft 6 is supported within the housing 1 in a manner wherebysubstantially one-half of the fan is disposed within the housing, theother half extending within the conduit in the path of incoming air. Thehousing I and conduit 8 may be formed of any desired material such assheet metal or the like and in the assembly thereof, there are providedangle irons 9 disposed on both sides of the construction for bracing andsupporting the structure.

The fan 5 is supported on the shaft 6 by means of the split hub l0,better illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. of the drawing. The hub I0 isformed with flanges l l on each end thereof and thesplit sections, inassembly, are secured to the shaft 6 by means of bolts or the like I 2.If desired a locking screw l3 may be employed and carried by one of thesections for engagement with the shaft 6 to positively assure the hubIII rotating with said shaft.

The fan 5 includes a plurality of vanes or blades M which are preferablyof a fiat surface, each of the blades being connected to the flanges Hby means of angle iron braces t5, which braces extend substantially theentire width of the blade or vane for materially strengthening the fan.The braces l5 are arranged in spaced relation on each blade l4, and aresuitably connected by means of a transverse brace l6 disposed betweenthe flanges l I as clearly shown in Figure 2 of the drawing.

Additional air inlets are also provided which are in the form ofopenings positioned within the conduit 8. It is preferred, however, thatthe inlets be diametrically opposed and positioned substantially asillustrated at IS in Figures 1 and 2, the purpose of which willhereinafter appear.

An important feature of the present invention resides in the manner ofpositioning the fan within the housing and the respective sides of thefan blades and housing. Referring particularly to Figure 2 of thedrawing it will be noted that a space is provided between each end ofthe blade and each side wall of the housing and that there is alsoprovided a relatively large space between the. fan blade and the bottomof the conduit. In operation one end of the conduit 8 is the suctionside and the other end the discharge side, or the condition may bereversed, depending upon the direction of the rotation of the fan 5. Forpurposes of description let it be assumed that the fan is rotating inthe direction of the arrow in which case air is admitted through the endll of the conduit 8 and discharged through the end IS. The motion set upby the rotating blades IE will create a vacuum along the sides of thehousing and in addition to air being drawn in the end l'l, air will alsobe admitted through the openings l9 which will be-discharged byaction ofthe fan through the end l8. Due to the close proximity of the fan bladeswith the top of the housing 1 very little air will be carried therein,thus only a part of the air is contacted by the blades. Thus it can beunderstood that use is made of the air cur rents to help draw in the airand to expel it from the fan. By this method, power is reduced to a lowpoint while volume is increased. The hub Ill is so designed as toprevent any air suction in the center of the wheel.

It has been found that the herein described blower fan will operate at alower power rate and deliver a larger volume of air, primarily due toits construction which includes the space between the side of thehousing and the edge of the fan blade, and the space allowed at thebottom of the housing or Where the conduit 8 is located. The housingallows the air to pass by and be set in motion by the blades of the fan.The fan may be of any size desired, for example, the blade may beincreased in width with no increase in diameter, with a correspondingincrease in the width of the housing. Also, the diameter of the fan maybe reduced if desired, and by these means the volume of output may beincreased by a slight change.

It is also to be understood that the shaft 6 is to be driven by anyappropriate means and preferably by a reversible type motor whereby therotation of the shaft can be reversed to permit reversed motion of thefan 5.

A blower fan of the type herein illustrated and described is capable ofvarious uses and the conduit 8 can be attached to appropriate inlets andoutlets where its use is deemed necessary. In some instances itrmay befound desirable to directly admit atmospheric air through the openings[9 in which case they would be connected to appropriate inletconnections.

Also, it will be understood, of course, by those skilled in the art thatvariations in the hereinabove described device involving thesubstitution of substantial equivalents for the devices described areintended to be comprehended within the spirit of the present inventionand that the invention is capable of extended application and is notconfined to the exact showing of the drawing nor to the preciseconstruction described and, therefore, such changes and modificationsmay be made therein as do not affect the spirit of the invention norexceed the scope thereof as expressed in the appended claim.

What is claimed is: g

A blower fan comprising, in combination, a housing, a conduit havingcommunication with said housing, said conduit being formed withdiametrically opposed openings in the side walls thereof, a shaftextending through said housing, a hub mounted on said shaft, said hubbeing formed with flanges on each end thereof, means forrotatably'mounting' a fan on said hub, said means comprising angle ironbraces extending from said flanges, said fan including a series ofrelatively flat-surfaced blades extending partially within said conduit,the edges of said blades being arranged in spaced relation relative tothe side walls of said housing whereby rotation of said fan creates avacuum in said space to aid in drawing and expelling air through saidconduit.

JAMES L BOWERS.

